Menorca
Gin Xoriguer cannot be understood without its island of origin, Menorca. Menorca would surely be different without Gin Xoriguer.
History and tradition, culture and craftsmanship, nature and landscape are elements that shape the past, present and future of Destilerías Xoriguer, always linked to the majestic Port of Mahón and the small island of Menorca.
The turbulent history of dominations of Menorca has marked this coveted Mediterranean island in a very special way. An island that, despite having been in the hands of Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Arabs, English and French, has always known how to protect what matters most — a very particular way of life in which nature and family count, and greatly so.
HISTORY
Destilerías Xoriguer was born from the determination of Miguel Pons Justo to recover an ancient “geneva” recipe through trial and error. A fire had devastated the distillery where he worked and he decided to embark on the adventure of making again the gin that was produced in the extinct factory, trusting in his craft and dedication.
In 1945 he headed to Ciutadella with his barrels of Gin Xoriguer to present his new gin. After the success obtained at the Festes de Sant Joan that year, Miguel Pons Justo set up in the port of Mahón where the facilities of Destilerías Xoriguer still stand today and began to craft one of the most emblematic products of Menorca, Gin Xoriguer or Gin de Mahón as many call it.
Today Destilerías Xoriguer remains a family business, although its gin reaches countries such as the United States, Italy, Holland, Germany, England, Denmark, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong, always in its characteristic green bottle with handle.
bottle
Gin Xoriguer gin is instantly recognised by its green bottle with handle (caneca). This peculiar characteristic dates back to the 18th century when gin and rum arrived by boat at the Port of Mahón and spirits were sold in bulk, in containers called canecos, which allowed people to carry the drink home and keep it fresh.
This custom was maintained for many years until in the early 1980s bottled packaging became the norm. At that moment, and always faithful to its origins, the Distillery wanted its new packaging to convey Authentic Menorca and chose the typical brown glass bottle with its characteristic handle.
But the story of the bottle of the oldest gin in the Mediterranean does not end here. In the mid-1990s, a global crisis meant that continuing to manufacture in the furnaces capable of producing the characteristic Gin Xoriguer container was no longer possible. The solution was to respect its original shape, the caneca, but change materials and colours. Since then the GIN XORIGUER bottle has been green and emerald. An iconic bottle, unique in the world.
PRODUCTION
Generation after generation, Destilerías Xoriguer has kept intact its respect for the traditional method, with a simple distillation or “one-shot method” in copper pot stills over two centuries old.
High-quality wine alcohol, juniper berries preferably from the Pyrenees and well water sublimated by fire, fuelled by wood from the forests of Menorca, give rise to a gin that is instantly distinguishable by its aroma and flavour. The recipe is one of the best-kept secrets of the descendants of Miguel Pons Justo, a Menorcan entrepreneur who, in the mid-1940s, created this inimitable gin.
1
BERRIES AGED FOR 2 YEARS
2
MANUAL JUNIPER SELECTION
3
BERRY MACERATION WITH HIGH-QUALITY WINE ALCOHOL
4
ARTISANAL DISTILLATION IN COPPER POT STILL USING ONE SHOT METHOD
5
BOTTLING
6
ENJOYMENT
Our Awards
AWARDED AMONG THE BEST GINS IN THE WORLD
THE WINDMILL
OUR BRAND ICON
The label design is inspired by the family windmill named Xoriguer where the family of the founder of Destilerías Xoriguer, Miguel Pons Justo, lived and worked, and in the values of tradition, quality and care that governed that old windmill.
A sincere tribute that reminds us of everything Xoriguer symbolises — Menorca, tradition and family.
